Flooring.



E. C. DITTMAR.

FLOORING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12. 1916.

Patented June 4, 1918.

FLOORING.

ELKEB c. antenna, or wrntmmsroar, rnnnsrnv Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June a, rare.

Application filed July 12, 1916. Serial No. 108392.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Erma: O. DITTMAR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Williamsport, in the county of Lycomin and State of Pennsylvania, have lnvente certain new and useful Improvements in Flooring, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in flooring, the object being to provide a flooring which can be manufactured as a finished article to enable the same to be readily laid without refinishing the same thereby savin "expense, time and labor in constructing a cor.

Another and further object of the invention is to provide a floorin -:which is rovided with an interlocking oint forme by providing one of the edges of the flooring strip with oppositely beveled faces forming a substantially V-shaped tongue of substantially the same width as the thickness of the flooring strip. and the opposite edges of said strip with a substantially V-shaped groove of substantially the same width as the flooring strip, the edge portions of the strip adjacent the groove and tongue being rounded so as to produce in the complete floor a rounded V-shaped joint which can be readily cleaned with an ordinary mop thereby overcoming the disadvantages now existing in flooring now in use of the accumulation of dirt in the cracks between the joints as in my construction a V-sheaiped groove is formed between the meeting es of the flooring strips which can be readily cleaned.

Another and further object of the invention is to provide a flooring which can be stained and waxed before the same leaves the factory to enable the contractor to lay the flooring in order to produce a finished job without any further dressing.

Another and still further object of the invention is to provide a flooring in which a stronger joint with less material can be produced and one in which the nails can be driven in position without setting the same.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claim.

With these objects in view,

1 is a plan view of a portion of the cor constructed in accordance with my invention showing the manner of producing the corners.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

Like numerals of reference refer to like parts in the several figures of the drawing.

In carrying out my invention I employ a strip of material 1 of any desired width having along one of its longitudinal edges a substantiall V-shaped tongue 2 formed by beveling the strip upon opposite sides, which tongue is the same wldth as the thickness of the strip, the tongue being rounded as shown at 3 for the purpose hereinafter fully described. The opposite longitudinal edge is provided with a V-shaped groove 4 of the same .width as the thickness of the flooring strip, the edges of the groove being rounded as shown at'5 so that when a series of strips are assembled as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and secured by nails 6, substantially V-shaped grooves having rounded edges 3 and 5 are formed between the assembled strips so as to allow for expansion and shrinkage, as the material from which the strip is made shrinks and expands. In assembling the various strips to produce a flooring as shown in Fig. 1, I form the corners by beveling the ends of thestrips a shown at 7 so as to engage the beveled face of the tongue of the ad acent strip, but it is, of course, understood that I do not wish to limit ticular manner of forming the corners as the ends. of the strips could be provided with -shaped grooves to receive the V- shaped tongues of the abutting stri As shown in Fi 1, a floo when laid in accordance wit my invention is roduced which has intersecting substantially shaped grooves having rounded edges between the abutting strips so as to allow the strips to expand and contract without making an uneven floor and at the same time a joint is formed which is very stro and one which will not show an open joint as the material shrinks and e ands.

In the drawing I have il ustrated flooring strips interlocked together by tongues and grooves, in order to produce a floor in which the abutting flooring strips provide a flooring surface having substantially V- shaped rounded grooves at the junction of the strips in order to provide a flooring in myself to any partih which the flooring strips can be manufactured at the mill and finished so that when laced in position in order to produce a 001', a finished floor 1s produced wlthout further dressing in any way.

By this construction a -shaped roove is formed between the abutting strlps of the flooring which can be readily cleaned by simply passing a mop over the same thereby obtaining an advantage over the straight wall joint of the ordinary flooring now in use, as it is almost impossible to remove the dirt which accumulates in the joints of this class of flooring.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have rovided an improved construction of floorlng which can be manufactured as a completed article ready to be laid thereby dispensing with the dirt caused in laying the flooring and eliminatin the expense of dressing to which the or inary construction of floor must be sub jected to in order to produce an even surface, as in my improved construction any slight unevenness cannot be noticed, and a flooring is produced which is very serviceable and ornamental.

I claim:

As a new article of manufacture, a flooring strip having one of its longitudinal edges formed with beveled faces to provide a tongue of substantially V-shape 1n cross section, of a width equal to the thickness of the strip, said strip havin its beveled faces rounded at the junction 0 the beveled faces with the face of the strip, and the other longitudinal edge grooved to form a substan tially V-shaped groove of a width substan-' tially the thickness of the strip, the edges of the groove being rounded.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afix my signature 1n the presence of two witnesses.

ELMER C. DITT.

Witnesses:

OLIVER J. Drum, HENRY P. DECKER. 

